Dinner with Meiwa Corporation

Thanks to contacts made through Yoshi over our China Study Tour this past March, I was fortunate enough to meet some great people at Meiwa Corporation once. More fortunate is that I got to meet them again this past Tuesday, and once again they showed us a great time in Shanghai. There is nothing comparable to these dinners where you mix Japanese, Chinese, and Americans over a wonderful meal. Throw in some booze to loosen people up, and this is what you get... Many people having a great time!

It was fascinating to take part in a conversation with these Japanese businessmen who spoke limited English while I have just a few phrases of Japanese. The common bond? A little bit of Chinese, which became our language of choice. What also helped was that because both of our Chinese language skills were limited to about the same level, so we could actually mostly understand each other. Also, thank you to the few translators in the room that helped out with the complexities.

All in all, it was a absolutely fantastic night, but one of my favorite parts was telling Annie's story to Matsui-san. With a little bit of Chinese, Japanese, and English all mixed together, I was totally able to get the point of the story across and in a very strange, but good way, that makes me proud. I may not be proficient in any language, including English at times (just ask Jacob), but I can get the point across.

Thank you Meiwa, Thank you Matsui-san, Thank you Yoshi, and Thank you to Matt, Kien, Jerri, Heidi and Annie who all came together to make this night great.